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Let’s Talk About Khalil Mack’s Awesomeness Because We Can and Other Bullets

It’s that time of the year where I have the debate with myself whether I’m better off sleeping in the basement (because I sleep better in cooler temperatures) or in my bedroom (more comfortable, but I struggle to get the perfect temperature). I chose bed last night, but didn’t sleep well. And because of it, I woke up earlier. In an attempt to get the most of the extra hours in my day, I started my daily morning mediation earlier than usual … and then my alarm went off in the middle of a session. Go figure.

Even though we’re well-removed from the football season, I still find myself having conversations with friends and fans that start with the question asking how the Mack trade even happened in the first place. Players of Mack’s caliber don’t often get dealt in their prime, and when they do, it’s never the Bears swooping in with the offer that gets the deal done. But in the end, there was a regime change in Oakland, a fall-out between the player and coach, ownership issues with a franchise entering a transition phase, contract demands that couldn’t be met, and so much more. It makes my brain buzz just thinking about it.

And to think, that doesn’t even cover what needed to go on from the Bears side of things to make it happen. Would Chicago had even been in the market for Mack had they solved their pass-rushing woes in free agency or the draft? Had Bradley Chubb fallen to them with the No. 8 pick, or had the team moved up to select the 2018 draft’s top pass-rushing prospect, would the Bears still have been inspired to push all their chips to the center of the table to haul in Mack? Would the Packers of 49ers ended up with him instead? Ehh … I don’t really want to think about those options. The Bears have Khalil Mack and there are 30 teams (not including the Raiders, of course) who wish they didn’t.

Watching Mack do things makes me feel warm inside:

#StopTheRun: Khalil Mack squeezes/surfs backside & plays with great eye discipline as he watches the mesh to make sure the QB doesn't keep it.

@k52mack_ on a stunt comes w/ the two-step, which off-balances the OT. Mack then condenses his hitting surface/swipes. Mack helps draw the attention of the OT & shorten the edge for @bigxander95 as he wraps/contains. #Bears

Defensive lineman Bilal Nichols has a solid rookie season. Nichols collected three sacks, seven quarterback hits, five tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and a recovered fumble in 14 games (six starts) as a rookie. Not bad for a fifth-round pick out of Delaware. But Nichols is probably just scratching the surface when it comes to reaching his potential. With that in mind, Nichols has focused on strength training during the offseason in order to take his game to another level. “I felt like last year I was a lot more quick than powerful, but this year I have a huge emphasis on being almost equal. I want to be able to switch it up,” Nichols said during a recent appearance on Bears All-Access. “I feel if I can get stronger this offseason and continue to get quicker, it can create some matchup problems for me and help me even be more successful.”

The only thing better than hearing hearing a hungry player self-diagnose what he needs to make himself better is listening to him explain why and how he is going to do it. Go get ’em, big fella!

You can check out Nichols’ entire appearance on Bears All-Access here:

A limited number of tickets remain available for the 24th annual Bears Care Gala to be held Saturday at Soldier Field. You can get them here.

ESPN’s Rich Cimini dives into the power struggle that led to GM Mike Maccagnan’s firing and ultimately putting ex-Bears OC Adam Gase in full control of the Jets:

Adam Gase ascends to the throne after only four months in town — a full explanation on what really happened at One Jets Drive. #Jetshttps://t.co/h2SupJ4IjW

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